M. Louise (Lulu) Stanley
M. Louise (Lulu) Stanley is a Bay Area based painter whose works follows in the tradition of narrative and history painting describing both fictitious and current events. Her work has a distinct note of humor throughout and an immense amount of detail that draws the viewer in. She is greatly inspired by her trips to Europe as well as myth, allegory, and storytelling. She also teaches art at a variety of institutions in the Bay. If you would like to learn more, click here.
1999 acrylic/c 72” X 84”
2008 gouache/gold leaf 27” X 21”
2016 acrylic/c 66” X 50”
1999 acrylic/c 72” X 84”
My last interview was with M. Louise (Lulu) Stanley. I met her at her Emeryville studio and apartment co-op. After navigating a maze-like pathway through the halls of the co-op, we arrived at her charming studio. From floor to ceiling there was numerous artworks, ephemera, and tchotchkes. Light filtered through the craftsman style windows and passed through her hanging tapestry of Da Vinci's Anatomical Man. I looked to my right and there was a full spread of cookies and fruit waiting for me
"Would you like a cappuccino?"
God.... I can't believe this is my homework.
After a tour through the studio and seeing countless pieces of artwork Lulu has completed over the years, I was really impressed by how prolific she is, and how continually inspired she is by the wealth of her research. She is a true researcher by heart, filling each of paintings with the depth and knowledge she acquires throughout the process.
I learned that we are both Virgos, both had mothers who were a twin, both had religious upbringings, and have both been nicknamed "Lulu". These synchronicities are probably just coincidental, but nonetheless it drew me one step closer into Lulu's world. We talked for a few hours from her fresh pursuits at art while at La Verne College riding a moped to the elaborate parties she and her friends had thrown-- such as a "grandma" themed party complete with stockings sewed with blue-yarn to emulate varicose veins and participants pretending to fall asleep and awaking to singing the birthday song.
Lulu's work obviously maintains that same sense of playfulness and delight that she carries within herself and is beautifully contrasted by the sharp detail and research she pours onto each canvas.
I left with my memory card full of footage from the afternoon and numerous recommendations for films, artists, and party ideas. Thank you, Lulu, for sharing your time and space with me!
